Despite being the second highest peak in Joshua Tree National Park, Queen Mountain is only a lightweight climb, a short, class 2 trip. To reach the trailhead, you have to drive down a narrow, sandy road. However, most vehicles should be able to handle it. The usual ascent crosses the desert flats and reaches a south-facing gully without the benefit of a trail. The gully leads to the col separating Queen Mountain and Queen Benchmark. Since Queen Benchmark is within easy reach, it's worth the added effort if only to sign the summit register; there is no register on Queen Mountain. After bagging both peaks, one can follow the descent trail down the southwest gully.

It was cold, much cooler than normal for this time of year, when Shin, Dinah and I set off from the trailhead. After hiking across the desert we hit a wash and followed it to the bottom of the gully. After starting up, it became too steep and rocky to stay in the gully so we climbed the left side for a ways. But the terrain soon eased. We dropped back into the gully and followed a faint trail up to the col.

Once on the col, we threaded through rocky terrain to the north side of Queen Mountain. Impressively, Queen is crowned with a huge rock slab. We delighted in walking up this steep rock to the summit. On top, we were greeted by a cold wind so we didn't stay long.

We dropped back down to the col and made our way up the south side of Queen Benchmark. Sitting just 3 m lower than the Mountain, Benchmark didn't seem as cold. We signed the register, took photos and started back down the gully.

Partway down, we found the descent trail, marked with cairns, that follows a shallow gully southwest of the mountain. After climbing much of the mountain without a trail, it came as a surprise to find a good trail going all the way down. We enjoyed the desert scenery as we hiked back to our car.